Blackbud, Bristols Growlers

"We are really happy with the vibe we’ve got going on with Chris Hughes in his Box studio.” Blackbud are recording. Again. In the short life of the band they’ve produced three EPs already. But this time there is no rush. “Independiente (with who they have recently signed a 5 album, 2 secured, deal) aren’t pushing us; they know we work hard, that we’ve had a great apprenticeship on the road and they have a lot of faith in us. So while we would like to have a single out in February 2005, with maybe another released before an Autumn album, we are going to take our time. Chris (who has previously worked with Tears For Fears, Adam & the Ants and Robert Plant) has been a supporter of the band for a while and had invited us to use his studio before the record deal had even been discussed. It’s very nearby and we just pop over and work at our own pace.”

Blackbud have come a long way in the 18 months they’ve been together, starting off as an improvised blues outfit after bassist Adam, then only 16, was left stranded for a performance and cobbled together a group with school friends Joe (guitar) and Sam (drums) with 24 hour’s notice. The groove and connection was immediately apparent. “We always knew we had something that could go far and be contagious.” So the Bradford-on-Avon trio set out on a whirlwind journey, while never forgetting their roots. After a double century of gigs, victory in the Glastonbury Unsigned Bands final, stellar performances on both the Avalon Stage and the New Bands Tent, a 3-way label battle for their signatures they chose to celebrate their hard-earned signing with a very un-scenster party at the Bradford-on-Avon Rugby Club. Down-to-Earth is only half way there. Gigwise catches up with the three teenagers in the Bristol pub next door to the video store where their publicist works.

It hasn’t always been a smooth ride. “There have been some really supportive people out there and in particular I don’t think we could have done it without such a strong management team, which has been there since the beginning, behind us. Having Grant, Phil and later Lulu there has meant we’ve been able to get on with the playing and writing and not have to worry about the business side of things.” “Though we’ve always been close to the major decisions,” Sam interjects. What they are missing out from this story is the negative press they have received. “I think a lot of the criticism we receive, namely that we are unoriginal or derivative, is because we began playing gigs before we had the songs. We started off playing sets which featured a lot of heavily improvised blues/funk covers; Hendrix, Buckley, Stevie Wonder. When we did start to write the tunes, these influences naturally crept in; but there are lots and lots of other influences there which I don’t think other people credit us for, possibly because they don’t know the artists in question.” 

Their music has also come a long way in the past 18 months. So while they may be taking it easy at the moment on the gig front they are still hard at work writing. “We’ve found that over the last year our style of music has shifted. originally we played mostly very up tempo, blues/funk numbers that audiences really responded to. There was lots of dancing at our early gigs. Then Joe started focussing more and more on the melody and lyrics, and writing more downtempo stuff. What we are trying to do now is combine the two, and I think in tracks like Barefoot Dancing we are succeeding.” Blackbud gained a reputation early on from being dynamic and exciting live performers with a strong emphasis on the importance of musicianship in their songwriting. However, just because they are writing more doesn’t mean they’ve completely neglected the live front. “We are a live band, it’s what we enjoy most; playing live. So while we wont be playing 4 gigs a week, every week, for a while, we will still be playing. We got a date at The Louisiana in Bristol at the end of September, and another secret gig in Bristol in October, plus a trip to the Barfly in Cardiff and more planned. We also wont stop playing the occasional local, low-key pub gig – we really enjoy those.”

The ground work for a national tour is already being laid, but they are thinking of doing something a little different. “We aren’t really part of any one scene, and we don’t really fit in. That’s not us being aloof, just realistic. We have greatest respect for bands that are part of a scene, and we will almost surely end up touring the Barflys, the Carling Academies and the Zodiac, Bush Hall, and so on. But we’re thinking about doing things a little differently, maybe taking it back to the 60s way of doing things and playing short, 3 or 4 day residencies in a few selected locations. This is the great thing about our relationship with Independiente; they are willing to design a tour around the band and what the band stands for. Taking in our own PA, our own support acts, doing up the place, playing in un-fashionable venues.” Just like their music, this is so very Blackbud; to take an old idea, freshen it up and do it in a whole new way.

Photos by Michelle Kilfoyle